Courses Available

All workshops and presentations are customized to the target audience.  Other workshops may be available or can be developed upon request.  The following educational programs are currently available:

 

Strategies for Writing Successful Proposals

 This workshop will assist participants in developing an action plan for timely submission of complex proposals, discuss strategies to enhance successful outcomes, documentation of need, workplans, including timeframed, measurable objectives, development of an appropriate budget, evaluation, including quality assurance/improvement.  Time: 4 hours - 1 day.

 

Coalition-Building & Networking

 This workshop will explore various types of collaborative relationships as well as clarify the advantages and disadvantages of collaboration and networking.  In addition, this workshop will identify both barriers to collaboration and factors that enhance collaboration.  Participants will have an opportunity to identify community organizations with which they want to work.  Time: 4 hours - 1 day.

 

Patient Decision Making:  Or Whose Life Is It Anyway?

 This workshop will provide an opportunity to discuss various issues related to decision-making for HIV-positive individuals, such as the impact of patient involvement in decision-making on treatment outcomes, autonomy and control, quality of life issues, ethical issues, involvement of family and friends, use of complementary or alternative therapies and compliance.  In addition, this workshop will explore the relationship between health care providers and clients from the patient, provider and personal caregiver perspectives.  Finally, the workshop will examine patient decision-making from  multicultural and multidisciplinary perspectives.  Panel optional.  Time:  2 - 3 hours.

 

In Search Of

Looking for resources for patient education?  How about the latest technology or newly approved medical treatments?  Wondering where to turn for professional development?  Thinking of ways of using the Internet for your personal or professional growth?  If any of these areas peek your interest, In Search Of... may be just what you're looking for!  In this interactive workshop, the trainers will guide participants through resources that are available on the Internet.  Time: 1.5 - 3 hours.

 

Human Sexuality

 This workshop will identify skills used in taking a sex & drug history, demonstrate increased comfort & skill in helping clients assess their risk of HIV & other STDs.  Additionally, the participants will identify personal & institutional barriers to promoting the initiation & maintenance of risk reduction behaviors and provide the opportunity to develop a sample personalized risk reduction plan.  Time: 2 - 3 hours.

This seminar will provide a comprehensive look at human sexual development, including gender identity and roles as well as sexual identity, orientation and behavior.  Information will be provided on anatomy and physiology, including the sexual response cycle and concerns about sexual function.  The program includes a variety of interactive and values clarification exercises.  Time:  2 days.

Interactive exercises will be utilized to assist participants in revisiting their early messages and experiences related to sexuality and explore the impact on their values today.  Participants will assess their own attitudes and comfort level, identify how these complex issues impact their professional roles and discuss strategies for reducing the barriers to effective communication.  Targeted to health and helping professionals.  

Time:  1.5 hours.

Participants will identify a wide range of sexual activities, rate the risk for HIV infection and other sexually transmissible diseases and identify a range of risk reduction options.  Interactive exercises and small groups will be utilized to identify and acknowledge losses associated with practicing safer sex, the best conditions for initiating discussions about safer sex and moving to the eroticization of safer sexual activities.  Time:  2 - 4 hours.

How can we effectively counsel to meet the psychosocial and health care needs of our bisexual clients?  The sexuality issues and concerns of these clients are not accurately described by heterosexual, gay or lesbian perspectives.  HIV risk and safer sex are dilemmas with unique circumstances for bisexual clients and require education and counseling strategies that speak to their reality.  Traditional counseling strategies can be ineffective if common myths and stereotypes about bisexuality negatively impact the client-provider relationship.  This workshop will explore a framework to better understand the special counseling and education needs of bisexual men and women and develop strategies to address those needs.  Panel recommended.  Time: 1 day.

This workshop will discuss the process of human sexual development, including sexual identity,    orientation, behavior & sex roles as well as the impact of homosexuality & bisexuality on adolescent sexual development.  Participants will identify common myths & stereotypes about gays, lesbians & bisexuals & discuss how they impact access to & delivery of health care, identify any personal and/or professional issues about working with gay, lesbian & bisexual patients.  Finally, participants will identify a minimum of three strategies to work more effectively with gay, lesbian & bisexual patients.  Panel recommended.  

Time: 4 hours - 1 day.

This seminar will provide an overview of the human sexual development, including gender identity and roles, sexual identity orientation and behavior, anatomy and physiology.  Participants will examine the impact of homosexuality and bisexuality on the sexual development process.  Panel optional.  Time: 4 hours - 1 day.

 

Presentation Skills

This workshop introduces the participant to various presentation styles and techniques.  Explore ways of maximizing the effectiveness of a presentation.  Topics include adult learning theory, logistics and discusses the pros and cons of various presentation techniques.  Time:  3-4 hours.

New and experienced trainers will have the opportunity to develop and enhance training skills through this workshop.  Topics include, but are not limited to, adult learning theory, creating an effective learning environment, effectively using interactive exercises and managing difficult situations.  Use of audiovisual materials and handouts will also be addressed.  Time:  1 - 3 days

This workshop is designed to enhance the skills of experienced presenters through the use of interactive exercises.  Participants will explore the use of interactive exercises and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of selected exercises.  Handouts of all exercises are included.  Participants are encouraged to demonstrate a favorite exercise from their own training repertoire.  Time:  4 hours - 1 day.

 

Facilitation Skills and Techniques

Skills and techniques used to effectively facilitate meetings and discussions are presented in this experiential workshop.  Key points of how to run an effective meeting will be examined.  

Time: 4 hours - 1 day.

 

HIV Infection

Provides an overview of HIV infection and a comprehensive discussion of workplace issues, such as discrimination, the right to safe workplace for all employees, confidentiality, benefits and reasonable accommodation.  Information will be provided about the Americans with Disability Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Family Medical Leave Act.   Employee counseling and planning for issues such as disclosure and retirement are discussed.  Case studies will be presented for problem-solving by supervisors.  National and community resources are discussed.  Panel recommended.  

Time:  2 - 3.5 hours.

Provides an overview of HIV infection and a comprehensive discussion of workplace issues, such as discrimination, the right to safe workplace for all employees, confidentiality, benefits and reasonable accommodation.  Information will be provided about the Americans with Disability Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Family Medical Leave Act.  National and community resources are discussed.  Panel recommended.  Time:  1.5 - 2 hours.  

This seminar will provide an overview of epidemiologic trends about HIV infection in women as well as a comprehensive exploration of the psychological, social, financial, medical issues facing women with HIV/AIDS.  Strategies for meeting the needs of women with HIV/AIDS will be addressed.  Also explores the implications of new therapies to reduce perinatal transmission.  Personal perspectives  from HIV-positive women are generally included.  Time:  1.5  - 3 hours.  

Includes an overview of psychosocial issues across the spectrum of HIV infection, exploring the roles of the client/patient, mental health professionals as well as health care providers.  Explores the Lazarus effect of the new combination therapies.  Also includes an interactive exercise and panel of HIV-positive individuals sharing their perspective on living with HIV/AIDS.  Time:  1.5 - 3 hours.

This presentation includes definitions, a brief discussion of epidemiologic trends, modes of transmission, the spectrum of HIV infection, an overview of disease progression and the psychosocial impact and a brief discussion of risk reduction.  In addition, HIV counseling/testing issues and considerations will be discussed.  Panel recommended.  Time:  1 - 2 hours.

 

Includes pre- and post-test guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control, skill-building exercises as well as risk assessment/risk reduction.  Targeted to health and helping professionals.  Time:  3 hours - 1 day.

Participants will identify a wide range of sexual activities, rate the risk for HIV infection and other sexually transmissible diseases and identify a range of risk reduction options.  Interactive exercises and small groups will be utilized to identify and acknowledge losses associated with practicing safer sex, the best conditions for initiating discussions about safer sex and moving to the eroticization of safer sexual activities.  Time:  2 - 4 hours.  

This seminar discusses critical food safety issues for immunocompromised individuals.  Also provides nutritional guidelines for individuals with HIV/AIDS, including nutritional interventions for nausea, lack of appetite, diarrhea and wasting.  Video.  Time:  1.5 - 2 hours.

 

We are constantly bombarded with media messages contradictory to substance abuse and HIV prevention messages.  In this workshop we will look at some of the marketing tactics used by companies as well as investigate healthy marketing techniques that may be useful and effective to counteract the mixed media messages.  Art, music and storytelling are three techniques that will be examined.  Time:

Infection Control

This workshop is designed to meet the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) required annual bloodborne pathogen training.  Topics include, but are not limited to, modes of  transmission, prevention, exposure control plan and personal protective equipment.  Workshop includes handouts and a certificate of completion.  Time:  1 hour.

 

Stress Management:  When Enough is Enough  

Staff burnout and overload is a concern of every health care organization.  Signs of overload and impending burnout as well as techniques for minimizing the negative effects of working in a fast-paced environment will be explored.  The role of employee, supervisors and the organization in managing stress and preventing burnout will be addressed.  Time: 4 hours - 1 day.

Fundamentals of Supervision

Effective supervision of employees can have a dramatic impact on staff turnover, employee morale and the ability of the organization or department to meet defined goals and objectives.  This workshop will address effective communication and leadership skills, delegating responsibilities, motivating staff, providing constructive feedback and conducting performance evaluations.  Time:  1 day.

Diversity in the Workforce

The course is designed to assist supervisors and managers in dealing more effectively with people who have diverse backgrounds.  After identifying personal beliefs and values that may hinder managerial effectiveness, the emphasis is on strategies for promoting an environment that understands differences in areas such as gender, race, culture, ethnicity, sexual orientation and religion.  Time:  1 - 2 days.

Culturally Competent Perspectives on How to Deal with Difficult People

This workshop will identify seven types of personalities that are difficult to deal with in the workplace, such as Sherman tanks, snipers, complainers, bull dozers, the clam and wet blankets, and discuss coping strategies for dealing with each.  In addition, this workshop will explore the impact of multicultural perspective on dealing with each.  In addition, this workshop will explore the impact of multicultural perspective on dealing with difficult people and discuss effective strategies for working with a diverse workforce.  Time 1 - 1.5 hours.

Toward a Culturally Competent Organization  

Culturally responsive organizations are able to improve quality of care and service utilization, as well as create healthier work environments.  Workshops on cultural competency, however, frequently tend to address only interpersonal communication and fall short of a thorough examination of the organization's role in addressing these matters.  This course will assist managers in identifying the policies and practices necessary to transform their organizations to ably and systematically meet the challenges of working with a culturally diverse workforce and clientele.  Time: 1-2 days.

Communicating Effectively  

Every word, whisper, gesture and written sentence communicates something.  To convey the appropriate essence of a message, individuals must be aware of their communication style and the style of others.  This experiential workshop explores techniques of effective communication skills.  Listening skills, nonverbal communication, giving and receiving constructive criticism and cultural nuances will be explored.  Time: 1 day.

Death, Dying and Grief

This workshop will utilize an interactive exercise & music (Picture Your Experience of the HIV Epidemic), brief didactic presentations (The Grief Process & Role of Rituals),  as well as small and group process (the Loss Timeline).  The presenters will facilitate a discussion of the use of rituals & ceremonies related to grief from a multicultural perspective. In addition, participants will develop personal & organization plans to acknowledge & address the impact of HIV-associated grief.  This workshop will provide a safe and structured opportunity to grieve and to heal some of our grief related to AIDS and multiple loss.  

Time:  3 hours - 1 day.

 

This intensive workshop on thanatology will examine issues related to death, dying and grief using guided imagery, role plays and small group discussions.  The workshop is designed to assist individuals in exploring their thoughts and feelings about the issues of death, dying and grief as well as to increase one's comfort level and skill in relating to persons who are dying or grieving.  Time:  2 days.